Cityscape: Magnolia/Mobil service station

Updated 10:56 pm, Saturday, September 1, 2012

Photo: John Davenport, San Antonio Express-News

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This is the old Mobil gas station at 5424 Broadway at the corner of Austin Highway. The classic building is still topped with its red, neon adorned Pegasus and has been occupied by various retailers since ceasing operations as a filling station. less

This is the old Mobil gas station at 5424 Broadway at the corner of Austin Highway. The classic building is still topped with its red, neon adorned Pegasus and has been occupied by various retailers since ... more

Photo: John Davenport, San Antonio Express-News

Image 2 of 3

A classic Mobil Oil Pegasus with neon still tops the old Mobil gas station at 5424 Broadway at the corner of Austin Highway. The structure has been occupied by various retailers since ceasing operations as a filling station. less

A classic Mobil Oil Pegasus with neon still tops the old Mobil gas station at 5424 Broadway at the corner of Austin Highway. The structure has been occupied by various retailers since ceasing operations as a ... more

Photo: John Davenport, San Antonio Express-News

Image 3 of 3

This is the old Mobil gas station at 5424 Broadway at the corner of Austin Highway. The classic building is still topped with its red, neon adorned Pegasus and has been occupied by various retailers since closing operations as a filling station. less

This is the old Mobil gas station at 5424 Broadway at the corner of Austin Highway. The classic building is still topped with its red, neon adorned Pegasus and has been occupied by various retailers since ... more

Photo: John Davenport, San Antonio Express-News

Cityscape: Magnolia/Mobil service station

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It once was a gas station, but not just any old gas station.

Anchored at Broadway and Austin Highway, the Magnolia/Mobil building was described in a 1937 San Antonio Light story as “one of the most beautiful and picturesque service stations in the Southwest.”

It had all the comforts of home. Ladies sat in a parlor while attendants filled their car's tank and checked under the hood.

A Dallas firm, Magnolia Oil Co., built elaborate Spanish Colonial Revival gas stations across Texas, with this one going up early in the Depression. San Antonio architect Glen Huddleston saved the building from being razed and replaced by a convenience store, renovating it in mid-1986.

The original tile floor still is part of the parlor. The neon-lit red Pegasus, Magnolia's proud symbol, still stands sentinel over the building, which is rented to a gift shop.

“Everybody looks at this building. It's crazy,” said the shop's owner, Marcus Sloan. “A lot of people stop and take photos of the exterior of it. They're just intrigued by the building.”